


A tale of grudges long forgotten

by johnmykawaiiwaifu



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-18
Updated: 2012-03-18
Packaged: 2017-11-02 03:52:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/364679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/johnmykawaiiwaifu/pseuds/johnmykawaiiwaifu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You're just a secretary at a muggle school, you've currently put your wizarding days behind you, so when somebody enters your office the last person you're expecting to see is Draco.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A tale of grudges long forgotten

**Author's Note:**

> This one's for you, Tina. Sorry it took so long, and I hope it will be better than other things Facebook says you read

You drummed your fingers against your desk. You hated not being able to use magic to make your job easier, but it was the way things were. You were a secretary at a muggle school, of all places. But then again, Hogwarts probably didn’t need a secretary, as with a wave of their wands all the paperwork would finish itself. You liked your job well enough. All the little kids running around, the methodical step-by-step way you filled out forms. And the photo-copy machine was fascinating. But your favorite part of the job was probably all the little kids running around and staring at you with big, orb-like eyes and saying “Hi Ms. Granger!” And then giving you a gapped tooth smile and running away. But that was only when you were walking around the hallways, most of the time you were chained to your desk. 

Today seemed to be shaping into a boring day, writing out field trip forms for some outing to the museum, when someone quite close to you cleared their throat. You jumped, looking up at the slim, pale and vaguely familiar face of a parent. You had no idea how long they’d been standing there, or how they came in without making any noise. 

“Hello,” you smiled sweetly at the father and his son, almost identical if not for age. “How may I help you?” 

The father’s brow furrowed, and the little boy began to fidget in the silence. “Father?” But the little boy was silenced with a wave of the others hand. 

“Granger?” An expression of enlightenment crossed the mans face as he peered closely at you, his eyes flicking over your face as if trying to memorize it. “Yes, I thought that was you. Got yourself a nice muggle job, hm?” 

“I’m sorry, but who are- oh. Hello, Malfoy. Long time no see.” You knew he’d looked familiar, but you hadn’t dreamt that you’d ever see Draco again. Not in a million years, and especially not at this embarrassing muggle job in the city. 

“Daddy, who’s this?” Draco’s son finally spoke again. 

“Oh, right. This is my son, Scorpius. I do believe his term starts today?” 

You laughed. “Your son, Draco? In a muggle school? What are you trying to accomplish?” 

He shrugged and gave Scorpius a pat on the shoulder. “He needs to learn arithmetic and the such. And he’s not old enough to go to Hogwarts yet.” 

You peered over your desk at the pale blonde boy shaking and staring at you with a mixture of fear and admiration which kind of freaked you out. It was true; he only looked about six years old. “Ok, fair enough. How old is he, six?” 

“I’m seven!” Scorpius shouted, scowling. 

You smiled at him. “Of course, sweetie, seven. So he’d be in grade 3?” 

Draco gave a tight nod and you spent the next few minutes asking questions, filling out paperwork and self-consciously tucking your hair behind your ear. Finally you looked up from the huge stack of papers, massaged your wrist and told him he could take Scorpius to Mrs. Adams’s class which was just down the hallway. They left (you checked to see if the office door still creaked, which it did, so you still don’t know how they came in without you noticing) and silence descended over the office for a brief while before the usual ringing of phones and shuffling of papers surrounded you. You’d forgotten about the other secretary, Sue, and now you felt stupid for talking about Hogwarts and muggle schools. 

Your day slipped back into routine, more forms, more phone calls, and Draco slipped out of your mind. But after about a half hour, Sue gasped, and you looked at her, raising an eyebrow, when she raised a shaking hand and pointed behind you. You turned around, only to see Draco, who had again made a silent entrance, and could have been standing there for any number of minutes. You let out a soft “Aha.” And shook your head at him. He had apparated, you just knew it. And Sue had seen. 

“I… I looked down for one second, and he was just… there!” She barely managed to choke it out before collapsing on her desk. She’d fainted. This day was not going how you’d planned it. You rounded on Draco, furious. 

“How could you just apparate like that! This is a muggle school, in case you’d forgotten! And now look at Sue, she’s going to be in a horrible state when she wakes up and I’m going to have to deal with it.” You scowl at him, but stop when you see he looks genuinely sorry. 

“Well, I didn’t see the old hag here last time.” And there he goes, opening his big mouth and ruining everything. 

“Sue is not an old hag! She’s my co-worker, and honestly, with all her golden bangles and hair-dye she’s hard to miss. Nice try, Malfoy.” 

He stiffened and watched silently as you hurried over to Sue, checked her pulse, used your wand to conjure up a glass of cold water and sat back down at your desk. “So Malfoy, what’s the real reason for coming back? Is it give your friend’s co-worker a heart attack day?” 

“Would you give me a break? I honestly thought you were the only person in this office! It’s a lot harder to focus on Sue, and I was looking at you the entire time…” He trailed off and coughed awkwardly. You tried not to blush. Why would you blush? You’re pretty sure you hate him. But how can you not be sure..? 

“Well why did you come back? And apparating, honestly, Draco that was just foolish.” 

“Well… you know how when you’re apparating you need to visualize yourself where you want to be?” 

“I’m very well aware of how magic works thank you very much.” 

“Well I guess… I wasn’t really paying attention, and I…” 

“And you imagined yourself in this dusty office? Likely story, Malfoy.” You rolled your eyes. You knew you were being unnecessarily rude to him, but you couldn’t help it. 

“I was thinking about being with you, okay?” 

A silence descended over the office. You’re pretty sure you’d heard him right, how could you not have? But still… what he said didn’t make sense, and it seemed your brain was having a harder time processing it than your ears had heard it. You tried not to laugh. The amazing Hermione Granger, brave, sweet, intelligent, and the only thing that ever left her speechless was love. 

“Well.” He was looking at the ground now, scuffing his shoes on the carpet like he was a schoolboy again. “What would Scorpius’s mother think of this?” 

“He doesn’t… she’s not…” He just looked at you, his expression a mixture of guilt and sadness. 

You’d noticed he didn’t have a wedding ring on. 

“Oh. Well, in that case… would you like to go for coffee?” You were trying to lighten the mood a bit, but you suppose now that you’d said it, you meant it. 

“Now? Okay. Sure.” He offered you his hand. 

“But, I’m still working.” 

“No one will notice.” He held a finger up to his lips and pulled out his wand, waving it lightly. You wouldn’t know he did anything, except Sue gave a light grunt and sat upright, straighter than she’d ever sat before. 

“I’m just…” You looked at Malfoy, eyebrows raised. “Popping out for a minute, Sue.” 

“Yes, popping out, that’s alright. Fine, in fact. Lovely! Beyond lovely, wonderful! You have fun now, Hermione! Take as long as you need; everything’s under control here!” She giggled and hummed to herself, bobbing up and down in her chair. 

Draco laughed, and you allowed yourself a smile too. And you two walked out of the school, leaving countless old grudges behind and-hopefully-finding something new.

**Author's Note:**

> And Scorpius came home that night, complaining about how terrible his teacher was. 
> 
> So Draco had her assassinated. 
> 
> NOW THAT'S A HAPPY ENDING


End file.
